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School holidays??


riotproof

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How are you making school holidays not so boring in a COVID safe way?


There are only so many times you can go to a playground, and unfortunately for DS he’s often ready to go long before Dd is.


I’m not a huge beach fan anyway but Dh won’t come, and supervising alone makes me nervous.


I feel like when they go back to school and have to write what they did in their holidays, they’re going to have nothing to say.

Edited by riotproof
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I forgot to mention, they are even over Pokémon go.


Sounds like we are doing the same sort of thing. Maybe it’s finally me who’s bored. I’m normally such a homebody, I don’t know what to do with this feeling.

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We do the school holiday program every holidays (although not during lockdown) and we try to get to the beach at least once when it's hot.


Are there any lakes nearby, as DS and I like walking around local lakes, looking at different types of birds etc. There's also a bush walking track nearby which is nice when it's not too hot and sometimes you can see a wombat.

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ClaudiaCosette

I'm lucky that my older kids are homebodies (we spend a lot of time at home anyway because it's just easier). They play really well together and are very imaginative in making up games. I've also rationed out games/activities so there's something new every day Right now they're sitting next to me at the table with a new huge pack of colouring pens, crayons, paints etc and are recreating the "Escape" episode of Bluey in their own way. They also love to read so are happy to spend a lot of time with books,


My little ones are getting better at playing together too although their attention spans are shorter and I have to get them doing new activities more often. They do like "helping" me with housework so we can spend a whole morning just doing the washing, or making cupcakes, or cleaning the bathroom (they were surprisingly helpful when I did this).


We try and go out to a park in the afternoon when it's not so hot. We're lucky to have lots of great playgrounds around us. The big kids like riding their bikes or scooters and the little ones just like to play.

Edited by TeaCat
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Bushwalks and playgrounds, local outdoor pool, gardening with me (packet of seeds of their choice, reusing seedling pots, glorious muddy mess, sometimes results in plants 😄), walks/bike rides in nearby small towns - drive, park and wander in the botanic gardens or wherever looks interesting - would maybe transfer to exploring another suburb if you’re in the city?

My nearly 8yo mowed the lawns (supervised) which was the highlight of his holidays so far!! Big tub of sidewalk chalk has had lots of use.


Inside -I dug out old puzzles and toys not used for a while (duplo, cars + track) before they got out of bed - they fell on them and were absorbed for ages even though they’re technically ‘beyond’ them.

My plan for my day off this week is a picnic at home - get them involved in making a yummy picnic, maybe making pikelets or biscuits, pack it in a basket and they can choose a spot in the backyard for lunch.

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Feeling bad because we have done nothing. Especially now dd1 has just started full time work, so I feel like we wasted her holidays. Between bad weather, and the flood of tourists in places we would normally go, we have really just stayed home. Most we have managed is the occasional beach/break wall walk. But I think it bothers me more than them ... they have said they are happy to just be at home, plenty to do, they enjoy each other’s company. With the weather warming up, and I think we have managed to fix the pool, so I imagine that will be it for most of the holidays.

Dd2 is even less likely to want to go places, as she has just started a part time job, so just wants to stay home the rest of the time.

Dropped dd3 off at a friends place yesterday, for a sleepover. Apparently they are now out bowling and she’ll be dropped home later? Might need to encourage some more friends over for her - she is going to be lonely when both her sisters are working.

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Fruitmincepies

The mornings are spent doing a week-long outdoor sport (swimming, sailing, tennis), then time at home in the middle of the day - playing, iPad, movie; then somewhere outdoors in the late afternoon - the river or a playground or going for a walk/bike ride.

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I have a vague recollection that your kids are still at the younger end of primary school age...is that right?


We are at the beach for the usual January migration so many of my kids’ school friends are around. The teens are pretty self sufficient.


My mid primary aged child has been swimming (beach and pool), fishing, paddle boarding, helping cook, walking to the ice cream parlour, watching tv, playing some computer games and board games when someone will play with them.


It’s pretty much the same things we do at home (other than beach swimming) but in a different location. I used to feel the need to do more and provide entertainment but I’m pretty chilled out these days with the third child. They are happy, sleep well at night so I no longer tire myself out trying to meet my own projections of what fun is.

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We are doing 5 days of swimming lessons this week. That takes up the morning.

Pokemon Going and bike riding.

Meeting friends at the park.

 

This is exactly what we're doing.

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Miss6 is doing 4x 2hr art class sessions, and that’s about it. We did go to Healesville Sanctuary today which was lovely, and Kew Traffic School with some old friends for a short session on their scooters. Nothing else planned, i’m too tired to plan! So the days have been filled with backyard, duplo, playing shops, and exploring Disney plus because DH just managed to convince me it was needed.

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We live in a tourist town with plenty to do but I’m still weary....went to go to the local mini golf this morning but it was packed with no masks and no social distancing so we kept walking.

We have the pool set up at home but they haven’t really used it much yet as not real warm. We go to the oval after dinner each night and do some rugby training or we walk along the beach.

We’ve been magnet fishing but that’s about it. Probably more iPad then they should be to be honest

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A mix of vacation care (on days I need to go into the office) and and amusing themselves at home on the days I don't. I'm still working most of the holidays. Gymnastics training is already back on for my eldest so that's keeping her active.

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Does watching all the Harry Potter dvds and the entire avengers series count as a holiday activity?

 

Well yes. Ds doesn’t want to watch the movies til he’s read each book, so we are midway through the HBP. He’s currently completely absorbed by the unfortunate events series though, so Harry Potter is a bit side lined.

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DS10 has just been having a few play dates and went to Cartoon Camp for a couple of days. Other than that we haven’t done any outings eg movies etc due to COVID. We are currently away on the south coast for a week and spending time at the beach. Nothing planned for when we get back. I think everyone is going to be in the same boat. Don’t sweat it. Some downtime is good for everyone.

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It's definitely been a challenge!!

I'm back at work now but just had 3 weeks off; the kids liked being lazy but I was sooo bored.


We went a few days camping last week, just 1.5 hours away so not travelling.


I want to do some day trips on my days off, like to waterfalls and tree top walks etc. Outdoorsy stuff as I'm not comfortable in smaller enclosed spaces due to covid.

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We love a good movie afternoon with yummy snacks. Bonus points if we spent the morning baking them.


We've seen friends a few times and today we did a big trip to the beach (it's 1.5 hours away), explored rock pools and a new park. We even saw a sea lion!

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Jersey Caramel

I'm pretty sure kids only remember the last thing they did, so maybe just plan something fun for the last day of holidays?!


Though a previous boss/mentor used to say that she cut off all fun activities including outings, playdates etc in the last week of school holidays... gets them nice and bored so they are keen to get back to school! :lol:


Anyway, we're in the same boat as you... all Christmas/ holiday plans were cancelled due to covid, then it was raining for the whole time DH and I were off work. Of course now that we're both back trying to work, the weather is nicer. The kids seem happy enough with the occasional friend meet up, stacks of books from the library and some extra screen time here and there. I think the downtime will actually be very good for all of us.

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Don't worry when kids go back to school they tell everyone all that all they did was play xbox.... every single holiday.....

Oh! Isn’t that the truth!


When my youngest had to do “weekend recounts” each Monday, the journal was filled with: “I played Minecraft on my ipad” or “I played Minecraft with my brother all weekend” week after week.


Never mind the swimming (pool and beach), dog training, play dates, farm visits (grandparents) etc. I felt very self conscious at the parent teacher meeting and explained we don’t just plonk them in front of a screen all weekend. The teacher laughed and said she knows, it’s just my child didn’t like writing so that was a short answer to complete the task lol.

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